Supporting California’s economy and safeguarding its natural resources

Since its founding in 1850, the Board of Pilot Commissioners (BOPC) for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun has supported California’s economy and safeguarded thousands of miles of coastline through its licensing, training, and regulatory activities.

Each year, BOPC-licensed pilots safely guide ships carrying thousands of passengers and billions of dollars of cargo through some of the most challenging waterways in North America.

As the BOPC approaches its bicentennial, it continues to shape California’s future with industry-leading standards, highlighted by the development of new pilot boats that meet the nation’s strictest harbor craft emission requirements.

 CALIFORNIA’S OLDEST COMMISSION: FOUNDED 1850

Pilot Evaluation Meeting, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at 7:30 a.m.

• PEC Agenda

Board Meeting, Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 9:30 a.m.

• Board Agenda
• Board Meeting Documents

Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Pilot Trainee Training Program Selection Exam, Thursday, August 1, 2024, at 9:30 a.m.

• Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Pilot Trainee Training Program Selection Exam Agenda
• Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Pilot Trainee Training Program Selection Exam Meeting Documents

Finance Meeting, Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.

• Finance Agenda
• Finance Meeting Documents

Our History

Thomas Almond Ayres’ painting The Pilot Boat off the Golden Gate (c. 1855) captures a significant moment in California history and the history of the Board of Pilot Commissioners (BOPC).

Painted near the end of the Gold Rush, just five years after the BOPC was founded, the artwork beautifully illustrates the variety of ship types sailing on the waters of the San Francisco Bay in the mid-nineteenth century. The scene depicts both sailing vessels and an early steam-powered ship. In the foreground is a piloting schooner, similar to the ones that sailed the Bay until 1973. To the left, a clipper ship is depicted entering the Bay, with its lower sails already stowed. The painting captures the bustling maritime activity and the transition of ship technologies during this exciting period in California’s history.

Learn more about the BOPC’s rich history and how piloting has evolved over the past 174 years here.